


Never Alone

by Torabara



Series: The Circle Forever [3]
Category: Circle of Magic - Tamora Pierce, Emelan - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Comfort, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:20:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26405641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Torabara/pseuds/Torabara
Summary: Trisana is stuck at home with a cold. Luckily her friends won't leave her alone for long.
Relationships: Trisana Chandler & Daja Kisubo & Briar Moss & Sandrilene fa Toren
Series: The Circle Forever [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1915261
Kudos: 17





	Never Alone

Daja, Sandry, and Briar were all out at the market. Tris meanwhile, was stuck at Discipline with a cold. Normally she would be glad to stay behind, read a book, and avoid all the hustle and bustle of the market, but today was different from usual. Not even the teachers were there. Nico was off on some journey, as usual, Lark was asked to help at the weavers to prepare for the festival, and Rosethorn had stomped off early in the morning grumbling about some neglected plants in Crane’s area of the court. For the first time in a very long time, Tris was completely alone.

She dealt with it fine at first. Reading through her book kept her occupied (despite how foggy her head felt), Lark had left her a hearty soup that just needed a little reheating whenever she wanted to eat it, and the quiet was a refreshing change. Then, a few hours after everyone had left, Tris reached a rough patch in her book. The main character had done something completely idiotic, she looked up to tell her friends- and no one was there. Suddenly the silence was no longer refreshing, it was suffocating. 

Tris tried to distract herself by getting back into her book, but somehow it just couldn’t hold her attention anymore. So she tried looking around instead. Other than Sandry’s hanging and a bookshelf, Tris hadn’t really taken the time to personalize her room yet. After all, why bother making this room her own when she could lose it any day now. Then again, it’s been a few weeks now and no one has suggested kicking her out yet. At least not that she knew of.

The emptiness of the room was starting to make her uncomfortable.

Tris decided that her cold would benefit from a change of scenery, packed up her blanket, a pillow, and her book, and tiptoed down the stairs into the living area. She settled into the coziest chair they had, the cushioned one Nico often fell asleep in, and cracked open her book. Before she started reading though, Tris looked around the room. 

She could see the entrance to Briar’s room, one of his blankets was spilling out of the doorway, and on the opposite side sat Sandry’s room, door wide open and sunlight pouring through. Daja had left a small pile of nails on the table yesterday, excited to show off the product of her learning. A basket of Lark’s yarns sat next to her designated chair, and a breeze brought in the herb smells of Rosethorn’s workshop. Even Nico had left a little bit of himself behind, one of his less-warm jackets having been left draped over the back of the very chair Tris sat in.

Surrounded by so many reminders of the people she had grown to respect, and become rather fond of (though she’d never admit it), Tris felt her previous melancholy- her loneliness, melt away. She leaned back in the chair, breathed in the smell of her home, and slowly drifted to sleep.

She woke up later to the sight of her housemates scattered around her, practicing their spinning. Daja and Briar leaned against the sides of the chair Tris was in while Sandry sat in front, leaning over occasionally to help when one of the other two needed guidance. Probably because she was sitting directly in front, Sandry was the first to notice that Tris was awake.

“Good morning Tris! How are you feeling?”

Tris looked around, somewhat surprised by the lively greeting, and realized everything appeared a little blurry around the edges. “Where are my glasses?”

“Over here,” Briar said, tapping the side table next to him. “Shouldn’t sleep with those on, you could bend ‘em. So I took the liberty of removing them without waking you.”

“They left a nice little mark on your face,” Daja chirped, grinning cheekily.

Tris’ own cheeks felt warm, but she chose to ignore them and her embarrassment in favor of grumbling something along the lines of, “And you have soot on your face,” and wrapping the blankets more firmly around her. Daja just laughed under her breath and refocused on her spinning.

“We brought back a wee treat from the Market,” Briar said, turning to the basket placed behind him. He turned back around and, with a quick and somewhat awkward dramatic flourish and a playful “Tada!” presented to Tris a book, and a sweet roll. 

Tris was a bit stunned. She hadn’t been expecting souvenirs. Reaching forward she carefully pulled the book toward her, ignoring the sweet roll for now, and read the title. “Sarelein’s Journeys: Saving the Village” the sequel to one of her favorite stories. 

“We saw it while we were looking around and Daja remembered how much you liked the first one,” Sandry said, leaning her forearms and the aforementioned girl’s head. Daja nudged Sandry away and the two began to bicker while Briar, still holding up the sweet roll, watched on, grinning all the while.

Tris clutched the book to her chest with one arm while the other one went to collect the sweet roll. She sniffled, eyes suddenly burning, and everyone’s head snapped back toward her. Briar got up on his knees and placed his hand on Tris’ forehead, ignoring her protests. “She’s got a fever!” 

At the announcement Sandry swept forward, the blanket that had been in the doorway to Briar’s room suddenly in her hands. “Oh Tris, you shouldn’t have slept out here, what if it just made your cold worse?” She fretted, clucking about and tucking the blanket around any places she deemed not good enough. Daja was in the kitchen, quickly rewarming the uneaten soup, muttering all the while about stupid merchant girls who didn’t eat when they were sick. At some point Briar had disappeared into Rosethorn’s workshop, and judging by the noise he was making he would most definitely be in trouble when she returned.

“Daja, heat up some water for tea while yer at it!” He called, already stepping back into the room with a small bundle of herbs in his hands. “Yarrow and elderflower for fever, spearmint for immune system boost and flavor, chamomile for sleep…” Briar’s muttering trailed after him as he sped toward the kitchen.

Tris watched everything going on, bleary eyed and vision still blurry without her glasses. It wasn’t until Sandry gently wiped away a tear that had fallen unnoticed that Tris came back to herself. “Tris?” Sandry asked gently, “Do you want me to help you back to your room? So you can rest better?”

Tris just shook her head, not trusting her own voice.

Sandry smiled. “Okay,” she said.

Daja and Briar appeared, dual-carrying a tray loaded with a bowl of soup and a steaming mug of tea. Daja insisted on feeding Tris, who was both still too stunned and too tightly bundled to protest much, and Briar made sure she drank every last drop of tea.

“Why don’t we read your book for a bit?” Sandry asked. “Maybe it will help you sleep?”

Tris was reluctant to give up her gift, which had been clutched to her chest throughout the whole meal, but she could already feel her eyes drooping closed and she really wanted to find out what happens in the story. “Alright,” she mumbled, slowly releasing the book from her blankets “Just, read it properly, or you’ll ruin the story.”

“I’ll start us off!” Daja announced, swiping the tome before Sandry could take it. “Us Traders are the best at storytelling, just you watch.” She began reading, her voice low and smooth, while Sandry just sighed and settled in to do some more spinning. Briar laid down on his stomach, pretending not to listen and yet still managing to offer a comment every now and then, sometimes inciting a debate with Sandry and Daja. 

And so, Tris fell asleep once more, this time to the sound of her friends around her, keeping her company. Memories of laying in her bed alone, back in her family home, where no one came to check on her, or read her stories, seemed to disappear into a white mist of contentment. The people in this house cared about her. They wouldn’t abandon her, and if they ever left they would come back. This was her  _ home _ .


End file.
